Love is great, necessary even, but love without power is merely sentiment. On the other hand, power without love is the stuff of nightmares. In this week’s passage, we see Jesus’ terrifying power unleashed on both the natural and supernatural world. But rather than it just being a demonstration of raw power, Jesus uses his power to overcome evil for those he loves. That’s the kind of King we need, and we have in Jesus.

This week Pastor Justin dives into the idea of an inaugurated Kingdom (Already/Not Yet). We will look at what we know about it theologically then quickly hone in on what it means for us practically. We can taste the Kingdom, but it will always disappoint in its partialness?!

This week, we’re skipping ahead to an interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees in Mark 7. The first four weeks of the series is about the nature of the Kingdom and this text gives us a key piece. Namely, that sin, and therefore sin’s solution, works inside out. So too is the Kingdom of God an inside out Kingdom.

Why does Jesus talk about seeds so much, and what in the world does that have to do with the Kingdom of God? It’s a great question, and one that Pastor Justin will answer this week as we continue our series in the Gospel of Mark.

This week is all about the Kingdom. To start the series, I want to establish a working definition of the Kingdom, and help people think about it correctly, since the whole series is built on the idea. Secondly, I’ll establish the idea of parables, and what the use of parables teach us about the Kingdom of God - namely that it is both hidden and accessible.

This week Pastor Justin remembered the anniversary of the fires and their impact on our community with a message from 2 Corinthians.

Pastor Justin teaches on the New Testament's teachings regarding giving.

Christmas eve service at Calvary Palisades

The final week of Advent brings us to the theme of Love. It was because of God’s deep love for his creation that he sent his son to become a child, who would grow into the man who died on our behalf. Come hear about God’s great love for you this Sunday at 10AM at Calvary Church.

The search for joy is universal. We pursue it constantly; it’s embedded in the fabric of our country’s founding, and every company is selling it to us, promising that their product or service will finally bring us the joy we lack. The Bible describes a divine ideal that is joyful, and yet incomplete because of sin. So what is joy? Is it different from happiness? How do we attain it? How do we keep it? Psalm 16 tells us that joy is found in the Presence of God. What does that mean?